BAUHAUS AT HENIE ONSTAD KUNSTSENTER - Design, art, dance and architecture

Welcome to press viewing at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (HOK), Norway:
-  Wednesday 21^st of May, at 10 am
-  Curators and dancers from the group The Haus of Bau will be present
-  To attend please register at: tkr@hok.no

Two parallel exhibitions; Bauhaus in Norwegian (May 23^rd – August 31^st) and Human–Space–Machine. Stage Experiments at the Bauhaus (May 23^rd – September 21^st) will present the multifaceted production of the Bauhaus for the first time in Scandinavia.

- The Bauhaus is the cradle of modernism, having had a major influence on design, visual arts, architecture and dance. HOK is proud to be the first institution in Scandinavia to present an extensive presentation of the Bauhaus school of thought, says Lars Mørch Finborud, curator at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.

Human–Space–Machine. Stage Experiments at the Bauhaus
Human–Space–Machine demonstrates how live performance and stage experiments were central to the Bauhaus’ production. The Bauhaus scene functioned as an experimental laboratory for dance, abstract studies of the body, movement and theatrical mechanisms. The Bauhauslers sought to collectively explore the relationship between man and technology and a new human subjectivity that could respond to social and political changes in the wake of the First World War. Walter Gropius, the founder of The Bauhaus, established the Bauhaus stage workshop as a place for interdisciplinary collaborations where students and professors from all the other workshops could experiment without the pressure to produce designs that could generate revenue to the school.

 - The stage experiment workshop is where the ethos of experimentation and collaboration at the Bauhaus is best captured, says Milena Hoegsberg, aching chief curator at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.

The exhibition will present central works by artists like Wassily Kandinsky, László Moholy-Nagy and Oskar Schlemmer, in addition to reconstructions of the costumes used in Schlemmer’s Triadic Ballet. The Norwegian dance group The Haus of Bau will bring to life the reconstructed costumes through a series of interpretative and improvisational dances performed in the exhibition throughout the summer.

Bauhaus in Norwegian
In Norwegian art history, the influence of The Bauhaus has been underexplored. Bauhaus in Norwegian explores the school’s influence on Norwegian design, visual arts, architecture and art education. It recounts the unknown story of three Norwegian students at the Bauhaus: Herman Espeler Brodtkorb, Ola Mørk Sandvik and Hans Mollø-Christensen, as well as Edvard Heiberg, who was a professor at the school. Bauhaus in Norwegian also portrays internationally renowned Bauhaus artists that lived in Norway, such as Ivo Pannaggi and Vilhelm Bjerke Petersen.

The world famous German designer, Marianne Brandt, married to the Norwegian Erik Brandt, is presented as a central figure. Brandt is the protagonist in Notes on MB (2014), a commissioned work by the Danish contemporary artist, Pia Rönicke.

- Bauhaus in Norwegian opens up a new field in Norwegian art history, while Human-Space-Machine is the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the Bauhaus’ stage experiments workshop, consistent with HOK’s interdisciplinary profile and commitment to exploring modernism in the Norwegian context, says Hoegsberg and Mørch Finborud.

Program:
- Human– Space–Machine is open to the public May 23^rd – September 21^st,  and Bauhaus in Norwegian from May 23^rd – August 31^st
- Drop-in i HOK LAB when the art center is open
- Guided tours in English can be booked at mo@hok.no
- The Haus of Bau will be dancing in Bauhaus costumes in the exhibition: 24^th., 25^th. and 31^st of May, and 1^st of June between 2–4 pm. See hok.no for performance program autumn 2014

Key names: Walter Gropius, Ola Mørk Sandvik, Wassily Kandinsky, Jakob Prytz, Arne Korsmo, Oskar Schlemmer, Edvard Heiberg, Pia Rönicke, Marianne Brandt, Bjarne Engebret, Olav Strømme, Herman Espeler Brodtkorb, Ivo Pannaggi, Vilhelm Bjerke Petersen, Rolf Nesch.

Curators: Milena Hoegsberg and Lars Mørch Finborud, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (HOK).Bauhaus in Norwegian is curated with freelance curator Thomas Flor. Human–Space–Machine. Stage Experiments at the Bauhaus is organized in collaboration with Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and curators Torsten Blume and Christian Hiller, Bauhaus Dessau Foundation. The exhibition is founded by Tysklands Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Lotto-Toto Sachsen-Anhalt og Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung. 

Publications: Bauhaus på norsk is published by Orfeus Publishing (Norwegian/English). Human–Space–Machine. Stage Experiments at the Bauhaus is published by Spector Books (English/German).

Contact details:
Tiana K. Ringseth, communication advisor HOK, tkr@hok.no / 97711905
Milena Hoegsberg, acting chief curator HOK, mh@hok.no / 47714091
Lars Mørch Finborud, curator HOK, lmf@hok.no /92202861